>> People always complain that Linux desktops just mimic Windows 95, now that Gnome has done something entirely new (and good!) [..]
If by 'entirely new (and good)!' you mean 'just mimic the OS X desktop' (badly), then yes, Gnome is doing great :-/
If by 'entirely new (and good)!' you mean 'just mimic the OS X desktop' (badly), then yes, Gnome is doing great :-/
Of course there's some stuff that sucks badly, for me it's some changes in Nautilus' drag&drop and keybindings, they seem to just change stuff there for the cause of being different. And the crude notification space on the bottom of the screen is pretty unimaginative and annoying.